Two men injured over drug deal (video)

By BY SONNY LONG - ADVOCATE STAFF REPORT
July 19, 2012 at 2:19 a.m.Updated July 20, 2012 at 2:20 a.m.

A fight in this unit of the Barbie Apartments in Cuero sent two men to the hospital early Thursday morning.
Sonny Long
for The Victoria Advocate

CUERO - A fight, possibly over a drug deal gone bad, sent two men to the hospital early Thursday morning, police said.

Michael Broze, 28, of Cuero, remained in stable condition at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio as of Thursday evening, said Carol Harris, hospital spokeswoman.

A second man, Joe Luis Rodriguez, 38, of Cuero, was taken by ambulance to DeTar Hospital Navarro in Victoria, said Cuero Police Chief Jay Lewis.

Hospital records did not show Rodriguez as a patient as of Thursday evening, said Judith Barefield, DeTar Healthcare System spokeswoman.

Both men suffered "cutting wounds," Lewis said.

Broze at first left the Cuero Community Hospital emergency room against medical advice, but later returned to the hospital and was taken to San Antonio suffering from head injuries, Lewis said.

No arrests have been made as a result of the altercation, but possible suspects have been identified, said the police chief.

"The investigation is complicated and will take some time to complete because of conflicting witness statements," Lewis said. "It was possibly narcotics related, but we are still trying to piece everything together."

Lewis said Cuero police officers responded to a call of a fight at 1:10 a.m. at the Barbie Apartments, 1512 N. Esplanade St.

Some witness statements indicate that the fight may have started over a drug deal gone bad and the apartment was entered by at least two men, one of whom was showing a pistol.

"It's unclear as to what exactly happened, but it appears one of the people in the house cut one of the intruders and one of the occupants of the house was also cut," Lewis said.

The gun was used at one point to pistol whip Broze, who lives at the apartment, and then fired at Broze as he fled, but he was not hit. The weapon has not been recovered, Lewis said.

Lewis said once everything is sorted out, multiple charges could be filed against multiple people.

"What I anticipate is the department will file is a number of charges to include possible burglary of residence, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and child endangerment," said the police chief. "We've got a number of victims of varying degrees of offenses."

A 2 or 3-year-old child was in the home when the fight took place, he said.